Oh! Oh! Friday! Friday night, impending snow doom. Mmhm. (I’m tired, you forgive me.)
The Mister made the comment that we could shovel on Saturday.
I raised my eyebrows.

Saturday, the snow was slushy.
I thought about shoveling, but then when I got back inside, I forgot about it.

Until I went back out. By then, the sun had gone down, temperatures had plummeted, and the slushy snow had frozen to a point past shoveling.

“Ah, well, it’ll melt,” I said to myself.

It did melt. Before freezing again. And some more snow fell.

By Sunday, the gate had frozen open, the ice had frozen three inches thick on the steps, and the back stoop was just plain perilous.

On Sunday, I took the pointy metal garden shovel out there and beat the fuck out of the ice. Barely made a dent in it.

Monday morning, the back stoop and the dog joined forces in trying to KILL ME.

Tuesday, snow fell again. Moo thought she would go shovel. She came back in rather quickly, “Yeah, no, it’s too icy,” said Moo.
More snow fell last night.

This morning, I poured a kettle full of boiling water onto the back stoop, exposing a six-by-six inch square of wood, safe for feet. I tried, with all my might, to pull the mats up and crack some more ice, but my might was not enough to crack it. This afternoon, some more had melted, and I was able to pull the black rubber mat to the top of the ice.

Everything is an icicle. Now I wait for highs in the forties and some rain.

This was the issue we had at our previous house…in the front. It got very little sun, so any warmth at all melted the snow on the driveway, front walk, and front stoop. Then overnight it refroze. Rinse, repeat. My husband’s idea of “shoveling” was to just drive the SUV over snow and ice on the driveway. At that point I didn’t leave the house much due to illness, so he got away with it. 🙂

My ramp is covered with ice atm, just because of that same reason. The one time I had to go down it was a LOT of fun..until I hit the fence 😛 Live & learn joey! Youll get back in to the swing of real winters yet.

Ahhh winter, gotta love it! I totally relate. We hired a guy this year to come take care of clearing the snow. Depending on how much it snows, we may end up poor by the end of the winter, but at least our walkways will look nice. 😉

oh gosh gee wiz…thanks for reminding me of all the things I don’t miss not living in Iowa any more.Sorry…but well, I really don’t miss all that. And I’ve done all that stuff, including boiling water…and table salt. and cursing a lot too. I recall not being able to get the door open far enough to get a very small (I do mean very small) dog a good heave over the snow bank to pee. I remember that too. That was in Michigan..No I don’t miss any of it.

I spent fifteen winters!!! in Ontario, Canada, and Joey dear, I can feel your pain. The past twenty have been spent in Houston, what a pleasure. As my Mister, a born Canadian says, You can’t shovel heat and humidity.
Last weekend I went NORTH, to Dallas! It was dreadful. I’ve lost my “sea legs,” such as they were, for real winter.
I went to a friend’s house last week for book club. Her front porch made of wood slanted down towards the steps at an angle I immediately recognized as perilous, had it been in Ontario. The owner grew up in Michigan, and we shared a chortle at our good fortune, living in south Texas.

I remember that weekend. I shoulda shoveled too. I waited until the thick ice. My shovel wouldn’t break it. My neighbor (may he RIP) told me to throw some salt on it, wait for it to crack up, THEN shovel. It worked, enough.